Too bad or not?
by himitsu-chan
Summary: Five years has passed since Yugi and the gang have graduated. A certain CEO is coming back to Domino to look for a certain blond. But once he finds him, is it to late?
1. Chapter 1

**Title: Too Bad...Or Not**

**Author: Himitsu/Himitsu-chan**

_**Disclaimers**: They're not mine. They are owned by Kazuki Takahashi and Konami._

_**Notes:** set 5 years after Yugi and the gang have graduated.._

_thoughts_

_"speech"_

_(comments)_

_emphasis_

_**Warnings:** Possible OOC's and shounen-ai._

Seto was standing in front of the Kame game shop. Why did he go there? Actually he had no idea (and why it was still up and running, he wondered why too.) The reason maybe was because of the constant nagging of his little brother. Mokuba knew of Seto's dark secret since he (Seto) was in high school. Knowing that it was somewhat eating up his older brother inside, Mokuba decided to lecture the older. So now, Seto was standing in front of the Kame game shop, hoping that a certain hazel eyed blond would drop by.

What the hell am I doing here anyway? He could have moved to another place for all I know! Seto thought.

Actually, Mokuba, who had stayed in Domino all the time, verified that the blond did not move to another place. Seto went to America to get a college degree in business management. Not that he really needed it mind you. It was just due to the fact that more investors liked to look for more "credentials". Mokuba had said to him earlier that the blond frequented the game shop. Yugi was now the one running the game shop because his grandfather was really old now. So Jounichi helped around whenever he can (he also played some of the games too.)

Seto sighed and looked at his clock.

It's already 8:00 a.m.! I've been standing here for an hour! Why haven't they opened yet?

He looked at the door and noticed a note. It said:

_We'll open late today (10:00 a.m.)_

_Stocks are coming._

_Sorry for the inconvenience._

"Shit!" Seto cursed out loud. He wondered why he missed the note. He also wondered how he got distracted every time he thought of Jounichi.

* * *

After two more hours of waiting, Seto was finally greeted by someone who had a very unique hairstyle.

"Kaiba! I haven't seen you since high school! What are you doing here?"

He's still like himself after all these years. Seto mused then he did a double take. Yugi looked like Yami.

Yugi on the other hand felt like a laboratory specimen. He felt uneasy because of Seto's scrutinizing gaze.

Some things never change I guess. Yugi thought to himself.

Seto was brought out of his trance when he noticed that Yugi was fidgeting.

"Sorry about that." He said. He was sure that Yugi was shocked because the tri-colored haired teen looked like he was imitating a goldfish. Well, he was also shocked. Why was he being civil all of a sudden? Oh well, he started already. So why stop?

"Do you know where Jounichi is?" he asked.

Yugi's jaw now met the floor. Then he noticed that he was being rude so he composed himself.

"Jou? I think he'll come here later to meet with someone." He replied.

"Thank you. So you mind if I wait here?" Seto asked.

Now Yugi was really floored. Was this really Kaiba? Why was he so OOC? He then noticed that Seto was waiting for an answer so he mumbled a small "No." and staggered inside the shop, too shocked to really walk straight.

* * *

Seto felt like laughing because of Yugi's reaction, but he stopped himself because of two reasons. First, he now felt like there was something in his stomach (he didn't like to acknowledge them as "butterflies"), and second, that would be so OOC. He was already OOC as it is.

He now felt nervous. His blond angel was coming here...

Wait, that was so gay. 1 he thought.

Okay, change his Jou was coming to the shop. (He's possessive alright.)

But didn't Yugi say that he was meeting up with someone?

The multi-billionaire was suddenly flooded with a wave of jealousy. But then he decided to be rational.

It could be just a friend.

He decided to wait outside so that Yugi would not suddenly have a heart failure. He then heard the sound of stiletto heels against the pavement. He turned his head towards the direction of the sound and saw a blonde lady. He then racked his brain to find a name for the said person.

Wait, I think her name starts with M... Ma...Mai! That's it.

Mai must have felt someone's gaze on her so he looked at Seto's direction. Seto then nodded in greeting. Mai blinked to make sure that she wasn't seeing things. After making sure that she wasn't seeing things, she hurried into the shop to stop her head from spinning. Seto just acknowledge her? Well that was new...

* * *

Seto was now left alone outside the shop. He was currently wondering why Mai rushed inside after he acknowledged her.

Oh well, she must have been scared off Seto thought with a snicker.

Then he wondered why the blonde was there. He was looking for a blond not a blonde 2 damnit! Maybe she was going to buy some stuff from the shop. But she was too old for that right? 3 It doesn't matter though, what Mai was doing there, it was none of his business. Now where was his puppy?

Seto glanced at his watch again. It has been... ten minutes since his encounter with Mai and there was still no sign of Jou.

Must be late as usual. he said to himself.

Just as he was about to lift his head from his watch, the air was suddenly knocked off of him. He suddenly lost his balance and grabbed at the nearing thing he could grab. And that just happened to be somebody's jacket. The person who knocked Seto down must have been running, because the sound of heavy panting filled the air. Seto raised his head to scowl said person, when suddenly his breathe which was just restored into his lungs decided to desert him again. The person who bumped him was the same person he was looking for.

Meanwhile, Jou, who just finished catching his breathe lifted his head to say sorry to the person he bumped. But instead of saying sorry, his eyes widened in shock.

"Kaiba?" he mumbled. His voice hinting being a little unsure.

"Hai." Seto answered back. But being polite must have the same effect in Jou because Jou just stormed into the shop without even looking back.

I must really scare them. Seto thought annoyed.

He has been waiting for a long time and the person just leaves. Seto was about to follow into the shop when he heard voices. He recognized the voice of his puppy so he decided to listen and look through the window on the door at the same time.

* * *

"What happened to you? You look like you have seen a ghost." Mai said to Jou who still held the look of shock in his face.

"He must have seen Kaiba." Offered Yugi. Then he remembered that Kaiba was looking for Jou. He was about to say this when Jou suddenly spoke. All the shock in his face already gone.

"Yup. Kinda creepy though. Never heard him that polite before."

Jou looked like he was remembering something , but he was interrupted by the beeping of his watch.

"Shit." He cursed. "Come on Mai, well be late." He said to Mai as he took her hand in his. They waved goodbye to Yugi then they went towards the door.

Seto who had been watching the whole scene left before they reached the door. His looked like a kid who lost his puppy. (Well technically, that was correct.) He didn't even bother to hide that. He knew no one could see him. He left but he carefully schooled his features before walking towards his limo.

The pair was now out the door and they were hurrying to wherever they were going too. They were leaving in a rush so they didn't see the bewildered look Yugi was sporting. Well maybe Seto was wrong. Someone saw the sad look he had.

* * *

Author's notes:

Explanations and Translations:

1.An expression of someone. Don't mind...

2.Many people often make the mistake of using blonde to describe a male person. Well it's wrong because blond is for a male and blonde is for a female.

3.I'm not insulting Mai or anything. It's just that she's kinda older than the other guys so after 5 years that Yugi and the gang have graduated from high school... well I think you catch my drift.

4.I'm switching to Jou because Katsuya is just soooooo long to type.

What do you think? Should I continue, or not? 'Coz if I don't continue this, this fic would become JouxMai and we don't want that now do we? XP

Please tell me what you think.

If you have any corrections, please feel free to tell me.


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: Too Bad...Or Not**

**Author: Himitsu/Himitsu-chan**

_**Disclaimers**: They're not mine. They are owned by Kazuki Takahashi and Konami._

_**Notes:** set 5 years after Yugi and the gang have graduated.._

_thoughts_

_"speech"_

_(comments)_

_emphasis_

_**Warnings:** Possible OOC's and shounen-ai._

* * *

Seto really felt down. Sure his façade was still on but he was really good at hiding what he really felt inside. He was now in his "work room" inside the Kaiba Mansion. He was really looking blankly at his laptop screen. He finished all of the work that he had to do beforehand. (Even before he went to the Kame Game shop) so he was not really doing anything anymore. He had also hired a new batch of more of more capable employees and advisers so his workload has been lessened considerably. Now, he even had the times to play online games. Not that he enjoyed them, mind you. He just liked to critic the graphics, and plot of the game. (if it had any). But now Seto was too distracted to really do anything. He just so down that he felt like eating a whole tub of ice cream. Maybe even two...

He was brought out of his stupor by a sudden...

"You've got mail." From his computer.

Must be my book order. Seto mused. A little relieved that he still has another form of distraction from his current predicament.

* * *

Mokuba had been playing video games when his older brother had arrived home. True he was already in college 1 but as his older brother had said,

_"Old habits die hard."_

He chuckled at the memory but then he remembered something... he wasn't even acknowledged...or noticed even. If he was the Mokuba years ago, he would have thrown a hissy fit and demanded what was wrong. But now he was older and wiser. He knew what was wrong with his brother. He was either dumped hard or he had discovered that the one he was wooing already had someone else. Knowing that Jou was not the kind of person who dumped suitors hard, he decided on sticking to his second theory. But that one was also kinda vague. He knew that Jou was not seeing anyone at the moment... but who knows right?

But that would be just unfair for his older brother...right? Seto had a crush on Jou since high school. It wasn't his fault that the people in the business world liked diplomas from the U.S.2 better. And lastly, his older brother saw Jou first damnit!! He knew he was thinking like a child but he knew that if things would play out right, his brother would be able to acquire something that he really wanted. And it would also make his older brother happy. He needed to win Jou from whoever his rival is. He had to think of a way to boost up his brother's confidence and bring out his fighting spirit.

_Hhmmm... I think I have the right thing somewhere in my bag. I just hope that it's still there..._

* * *

The rich CEO opened his mail. To his surprise, it wasn't about the books he had ordered. It was from his younger brother.

Now what could this be? he mused as he clicked on the open icon. It looked like a poem of some kind so he decided to read it.

It said...

_When you find yourself in love with someone who can't love you back because he has someone else...._

__

__

__

__

_Don't worry or cry too much..._

__

__

__

__

_Just close your eyes and say..._

__

__

__

__

"_Damnit! They don't even look good together.3_

__

__

__

__

Seto blinked at the screen. Then he blinked again to reread the lines. Then he laughed. Not his evil cynical laugh. It was a real laugh. Mokuba was really a good little brother...helpful too. The words in the letter, poem or whatever were really a good help to lighten up his load.

* * *

Meanwhile downstairs. Mokuba heard his brother laugh and he knew that his plan had worked.

* * *

Author's notes:

-- Explanations and Translations:

1.Let's just say that I the story timeline, he's already in college 'coz I'm not sure how old he will be...

2.I'm not sure where Domino is. But I think it's in Japan or smoething.

3.Someone sent me this message. It made me laugh so hard I nearly fell off my chair. It was written in another language though.

-- What do you think? Should I continue, or not? Thanx for the review btw. I really appreciate them.

-- Please tell me what you think.

-- If you have any corrections, please feel free to tell me.


	3. Chapter 3

**Title: Too Bad...Or Not**

**Author: Himitsu/Himitsu-chan**

_**Disclaimers**: They're not mine. They are owned by Kazuki Takahashi and Konami._

_**Notes:** set 5 years after Yugi and the gang have graduated.._

_thoughts_

_"speech"_

_(comments)_

_emphasis_

_**Warnings:** Possible OOC's and shounen-ai._

Seto was already awake even though it was early. Too early. It was only 4:00 a.m. but he was already functioning. Surely this wasn't the first time that he was up and going at this time of the day, but the reason he had today was different. He was really awake because he can't sleep anymore. He was nervous...yes, NERVOUS...why? It was because he had not idea on how to win his pup's heart. He was also quite opposed to the idea of stealing. If the blond was indeed involved with the other blonde, what he was going to do could be considered stealing. But then he remembered the message he got form his little brother. It was a bit childish but he knew that it was also a bit right. No offense to Mai but he knew that they don't look good together. There was just something...off about them being an item. He just can't exactly put his finger on it...

The CEO had decided that he had mused enough so he decided to start making breakfast. Not that he was supposed to do that, mind you. He was just doing it to get his mind off of things. While he was debating on what to cook, he was greeted by a loud:

"Good morning, big brother!"

There was no need to turn around because he already knew who it was. He just responded a quiet hello back then he returned to his debate.

"What are you doing big brother?" A voice behind him asked.

He turned around to his little brother and gave him a small smile. He still acted like a child sometimes but in a good way.

"Actually, I was having an inner debate about breakfast. Maybe you could help me?"

"Sure!"

Plates of blue berry pancakes later, the two brothers ended up in the living room with Mokuba surfing the channels and Seto sipping at his coffee. But after a few minutes, his coffee was long forgotten. He wasn't even trying to salvage it while it was at a still tolerable temperature. Rather, he was just looking down at the brown liquid in front of him. He nearly threw the coffee in his hands because he suddenly heard his brother's voice.

"Is something wrong big brother?"

Seto was having seconds thoughts about telling his brother but what the hey! He helped him already. Why won't he help him now?

"I was thinking about Jou." He started. He then turned to look at Mokuba and he saw an expression on his brother's face urging him to continue.

"Well...idon'treallyknowhowtowinhim." He blurted out. It really felt weird when he was telling his brother these things. He still thinks that his brother was too young for this kind of things.

Mokuba apparently heard him because his face was scrunched up in concentration.

"I could teach you." He finally stated.

Seto was quite taken aback by the response but he figured out the Mokuba, being older now must have wooed girls...or even boys during the duration of his stay in America.

Maybe this won't be so bad. He thought.

"Sure." He replied seeing that Mokuba was still waiting for a voiced answer.

"Then big brother. Welcome to courting 101."

Author's notes:

-- Explanations and Translations:

-- Thank you for the things that were cleared up. If you want to check them out, see the review page.

-- What do you think? Should I continue, or not? Thanx for the review btw. I really appreciate them.

-- Please tell me what you think.

-- If you have any corrections, please feel free to tell me.


	4. Chapter 4

**Title: Too Bad…Or Not**

**Author: Himitsu/Himitsu-chan**

_**Disclaimers**: They're not mine. They are owned by Kazuki Takahashi and Konami._

_**Notes:** set 5 years after Yugi and the gang have graduated.._

_thoughts_

_"speech"_

_(comments)_

_emphasis_

_**Warnings:** Possible OOC's and shounen-ai._

Seto was watching his little brother from the doorway. It was quite funny seeing him fuzz about around the room. Mokuba had decided to go straight to Seto's workroom and decided to "refurnish" the new "classroom" as he had dubbed it. His work table was transferred to the center of the room. No doubt it would become his "school desk". After rearranging the things in the room, Mokuba had then proceeded to hook-up Seto's laptop to the projector.

Might be making visual aids. Seto mused silently.

Mokuba must have noticed him standing there because he stopped suddenly and gave him a smile. After that, he gestured for Seto to sit on his "desk". The CEO nodded and proceeded to take a seat while Mokuba clicked on something and typed furiously. Seto just sat there and waited calmly for Mokuba to finish. Once he was done, Mokuba stood up and walked in front of the projector just like how a professor would. The only thing missing was the geek glasses.

"Uhum." Mokuba cleared his throat and pressed the projector remote.

"Welcome to…uhm… Courting 101."

Seto snorted out of habit. Mokuba was imitating a college professor and to the CEO's opinion, it looked quite weird and silly. With the long hair and all…

"First we must focus on the purpose of this class."

A picture of Jou during high school appeared on the projector. Seto was having a thought in his head about Mokuba planning for this ahead of time. But who was he to argue? He was the one benefiting from this after all.

"This is a picture of Jounichi Katsuya."

Seto wanted to snort again but he just kept it to himself.

"Do I still have to mention his height, weight, etc.?" His "instructor" inquired.

"No need." What!? He was just WELL informed…

"Okay so first we must look into the task at hand. You said that you wanted to win Jou, is that right?"

Seto just nodded and Mokuba continued.

"Hmm…well, I suggest that first of all we must make sure if Jou and Mai are really together."

It was really a logical action but Seto didn't want to do that. If the two blondes were really together, then like he had thought before, that would be like stealing …right?...and besides he had a better idea after all.

"No."

"Why?"

"Well…" he started on his theory about stealing. Then he proceeded to talk about his "plan".

"I think that it would not be good that I would break them up so that Jou would be free. It would be better if one of them breaks up the other to ensure less bloodshed."

"And how do you plan to do that?" his not so little brother anymore inquired.

"Well if one of them… more specifically… Jou falls for another person, then he would break up with Mai. If that happens, it might create a more peaceful outcome." And that way, I'm not really very guilty about it. Seto silently added in his head.

Mokuba seemed to be thinking about this for a while before giving his opinion on the matter.

"Hmmm. That makes sense. Even if your reasoning was quite weird it can be done." And your just a little insecure, he silently added. The CEO appears to be taken aback by his brother's bluntness but he just smiled a little. Mokuba then proceeded to prod the laptop more. After a few minutes a power point presentation entitled "How to get him to notice you." Appeared.

Understanding dawned on Seto and he nodded his ascent.

"Okay Lesson #1."

Author's notes:

-- Explanations and Translations:

-- What do you think? Should I continue, or not? Thanx for the review btw. I really appreciate them.

-- Please tell me what you think.

-- If you have any corrections, please feel free to tell me.


	5. Chapter 5

**Title: Too Bad…Or Not**

**Author: Himitsu/Himitsu-chan**

_**Disclaimers**: They're not mine. They are owned by Kazuki Takahashi and Konami._

_**Notes:** set 5 years after Yugi and the gang have graduated.._

_thoughts_

_"speech"_

_(comments)_

_emphasis_

_**Warnings:** Possible OOC's and shounen-ai._

* * *

Seto sat quietly to listen to his "professor's" lecture.

"Well it's quite complicated actually. First, we must know how to get his attention. Hmmm…"

Mokuba seemed to be thinking very hard about it. His brows were furrowed so closely together that they might over lap or something. The CEO just watched the face of his little brother. After a short while, the concentration etched earlier on his face dissipated to be replaced by an enlightened one. Well, maybe a toothy grin was more like it, but hey no one's perfect.

"I have the perfect idea. You could just give him a significant gift so that he won't be able to get it out of his head. That would also include you." Mokuba said with a grin that could rival the cat in Alice in Wonderland 1.

The brown-haired teen considered this. But something was amiss.

"Don't you think it would be unbecoming of me if I just handed him a present for no apparent reason?"

His little brother's eyes became wide after that statement. It was the what-do-you-mean kind of widening. He was slightly irritated by this. It seemed as if he was forgetting something important…

"What!?" he asked a little irritated.

"What do you mean what!? Have you forgotten that it's Christmas tomorrow?"

"Oh…" he DID really forget something. Then his eyes widened a little. He forgot about Christmas because he was so engrossed in the "Jou business". And he had absolutely NO gift ready. Even for his little brother.

I wonder if his red sports car is still usable… he thought absently.

Being the bright child that he is…was…and still is, Mokuba quickly understood his older brother's predicament. And he smiled a little at this. It was kind of cute in a twisted kind of way because Seto ALWAYS shops a week before Christmas. 2 Now his big brother was so focused on Jou that he forgot to do it. That was why he found out about his new red sports car prematurely. Honestly, no one should really park a gift in the parking lot for all to see. It even had a very big ribbon so it was quite obvious. But enough about that…

"I know this shop that sells nice gift items if you are interested…"

Seto seemed to have regained his composure and answered in typical Seto manner.

"That would be a good idea. Besides, I doubt if I could give him something that I have previously purchased." Okay. So he really didn't have anything but he had his pride after all.

Mokuba just sighed at his little brothers antics and motioned for Seto to follow him.

* * *

The mall was so packed with people that the patrons only had less than a foot of personal space. Late Christmas shopping was quite a fad these days. In fact, many pages about lost children have seemed to go off per minute. The younger of the two brothers seemed to be afraid of loosing contact with his older brother so he valiantly clutched his brothers' coat. The seams of the coat were being ripped slowly but that really wasn't the problem now. After fifteen minutes of shoving into people (the shoving was done by Seto) they arrived at a shop named "Blue Magic" 3. It really looked like a chic shop but Seto thought that if Mokuba suggested it then why not? The shop held a few people so it was easier now to walk and talk. After a quick glance at the contents of the shop, he was quite amazed by the things that the store held. Dolls, candles, bags, and other things were present. But weren't these kinds of things given to girls?

"Mokuba. Why are we here?" he inquired.

"To buy Jou a gift of course."

Seto really wanted to bop Mokuba on the head sometimes because of his antics but as usual he let it pass.

"Don't be offended or anything but isn't this a shop for girl gifts?"

The younger Kaiba seemed to be startled by his inquiry but he quickly composed himself and just grinned.

"Just wait and see." He answered in a conspiratorial way.

Seto just followed his brother and surveyed the other things sold in the shop. Something brown caught his eye. It looked like…like… well…shit. Yup shit. It seemed that this shop even sold gag items. He tore his eyes away from the offending piece of whatever when his younger brother stopped and eyed some of the displays. He looked at it and saw dog things. Lots of them.

"Why would I give him dog things?"

"What's wrong with giving "dog things" big brother?" Mokuba inquired in a completely innocent tone.

"Well, first of all, he hates dogs. And secondly, how could THAT remind him of me?"

His little brother was still looking at one of the stuffed toys when he answered.

"Well, first of all, he doesn't hate dogs. I see him walk his dog in the mornings. He also walks the neighbor's dogs sometimes. And secondly, you always likened him to dogs so he'll remember you when he sees it."

"But the guy with the dice… what's his name? Oh right, Otogi. He also teased Jou with dog names."

Mokuba sighed. His brother was really becoming difficult about the dog subject. And besides, when Otogi teased Jou with dog names, his intentions were to degrade whilst when Seto teased Jou; it was more of an endearment really. And he knew that when Jou was teased by Otogi, the blond really became pissed. But when his big brother teased Jou, the blond seemed to be in a more tolerating mood.

"You and Otogi have different reasons when teasing Jou so it's not really the same thing."

The young CEO pondered on his younger brother's statement for a while. Understanding dawned on him and he just let out a sigh. His brother really knew him well…

Something yellow and soft was shoved in front of his face.

"How about this?"

Seto pulled the offending things away from him to be able to study it. It was a doll. No wait, two dolls to be exact. And they were… KISSING? 4 He just raised his eyebrow to signal Mokuba that he would need to explain.

"Well they're cute." Seto just continued to raise his eyebrow.

"And well, they do this." To support his statement, Mokuba pulled the two dogs apart and carefully laid them down the glass display nearby. Seto watched as the dogs seemed to crawl toward each other and kiss. He even heard and "I love you" coming from the toy after the display. He just continued to raise his eyebrow.

"Jees, ok fine. Maybe it's a little bit early in the relationship to be giving those kinds of gifts." Then he stalked towards more dolls while a slightly red-faced Seto followed him.

Relationship? We don't even have one…yet. he silently thought.

"How about that?" his eyes followed the direction of Mokuba's finger and saw a very large dog doll. It was really large that it might even surpass the older Kaiba's height. And that was saying something.

"It's too big. It will attract too much attention." And I don't want to drag something that big all the way to the car. He silently added.

Mokuba seemed to pout a little at the admonition but he just shrugged and studied the other displays again. Seeing the pout, Seto remembered a squid doll near the entrance. He'll give that to Mokuba just to tease him. And maybe he'll add in a new car as well. His younger brother was helping him after all. He'll just need to find a way to buy that without his brother noticing. As he was surveying the store for a distraction for his brother, a sudden movement caught his eye. He went closer to the location of said movement and he was brought into a key chain rack. Upon closer inspection, he then realized that it was a small dog key chain.

Perfect. he thought.

He then approached Mokuba to ask about him a significant question.

"Does Jou have a car?"

His younger brother seemed to be puzzled by his question but he answered none the less.

"I think so. But it was busted a month ago. I'm not sure if he still uses it. Why?"

"It's because I saw this keychain there. And it had a little golden retriever doll attached to it."

The younger of the two went to inspect the key chain rack and went back to his brother.

"I think it's perfect big brother. And if his car is still functional, then he'll be able to see your gift for him."

Seto wanted to say : "What if he doesn't use it?" but his younger brother seemed to have read his mind and answered his indirect question.

"And I'm sure he'll use it. He uses the things given to him to show his appreciation."

He smiled a little at this. There was only one more problem.

"Could you call Yugi or someone to make sure that his car is still usable? Because if it isn't I don't really know what would happen if I gave him a car instead."

Mokuba nodded and asked him to be excused while he called Yugi on his cellphone outside. While his younger brother did this, he went on ahead and grabbed the squid and proceeded to the key chain rack. When he looked for the key chain again, he was surprised that there were two key chains there instead of one.

Might have overlooked it. he thought.

He just grabbed the two so that he'll also have the same key chain as his puppy. As he approached the counter, he noticed that one of the cashier's mouth was really falling near the floor. And when he looked closely enough, the face of the cashier, it was quite familiar. Too bad he can't really place it…

"Kaiba?" she asked.

Seto wanted to roll his eyes and say "obviously" but he was already in a good mood so he decided to be a little civil. In other words he just nodded at the person and placed his purchases on the counter. He saw the name tag of the cashier and it read "Anzu".

Anzu…Anzu… where did I hear that name again? Oh yes, one of Jou's friends.

"Do you want them to be separately wrapped?" Anzu inquired.

"Yes Anzu." He just replied. This caused Anzu's mouth to really drop to the floor. What is it with people anyway? When he decides to be civil, they act as if he was an alien… and besides, this was his puppy's friend. He should at least be nice to them.

Wait a minute! Does that mean that I have to give them gifts too? I don't have any yet… Seto really wanted to go and ask Mokuba but the gifts aren't wrapped yet. When he looked at the gifts again, they were already wrapped. He must have been thinking longer than he had expected.

"Here are your gifts. Come again." Anzu said jovially. Seto's civility must have rubbed on her. When he went towards the door, he was greeted by Mokuba who eyed the extra packages curiously.

* * *

When they were about to go into Mokuba's red sports car, Seto suddenly remembered his little problem.

"Jou's friends…" he started but Mokuba being Mokuba answered his supposed question immediately.

"Don't worry. I already have gifts for them at home. Oh yeah if you were wondering how you would be able to give Jou's gift, you could just give to him later at the Christmas party at Yugi's. "

* * *

What Mokuba said in the car resounded in the CEO's head like a bad case of LSS (Last Song Syndrome). A confrontation with his blond puppy right away was something that he didn't need. What if he stammered or something? That would be unbecoming. He needed to mentally prepare himself. He also needed to find something nice to wear…

So now, he was literally tearing his closet inside out just to look for something to wear. He couldn't ask for his brother's opinion right now because Mokuba said that he needed to do something important and would be back by 9:45 in the evening. He had to find something fast because they would be going there in three hours. He should have been really informed immediately but his brother seemed to have forgotten it. Because if Mokuba purposely kept it from him then he would see red.

"Damn." He muttered.

After looking for something to wear that was not too "formal and businnessy" as Mokuba had put it, he just decided on a pair of black slacks with a black jacket. Deciding that he looked like he was going to a funeral if he wore that, he added a dark blue shirt and a cross necklace. He surveyed his choice of clothes again and decided that it didn't look "formal and businnessy". It did look kind of casual actually.

Deciding that it was time to get himself ready, he went into the shower to take a shower.

* * *

After his shower and his hour long meeting with his mirror, he went down to the living room to meet with his brother. They would be leaving immediately because they had to arrive at Yugi's place at 10:00. Just as he stepped on the last step, he was greeted by a whistle from his brother.

"You look good big brother."

Seto was a little started but he gathered his wits immediately.

"I thought you would be out until 9:45. You're 15 minutes early."

"I just wanted to give you a few pointers before going there."

* * *

After a lecture about lessening the dog insults, being civil to his friends and smiling a little, they were now in Mokuba's red sports car on their way to Yugi's. They would have taken Seto's Blue MR-2 Turbo T-bar Toyota but he was so nervous that he could not trust himself to even hold the steering wheel correctly. After the 15 minute drive, they arrived at the front door of Yugi's game shop. Seto's nerves were frayed at that point. He wanted to keel over but he was SETO KAIBA after all. And SETO KAIBA did not keel over so he steeled himself and walked towards the door. They were greeted by the loud booming sounds coming from the house. It seems that the party had already started. Well, Seto was not really someone who adores crowded places, but seeing that his puppy was here, he would take the risks. He would finally get a glimpse of his puppy again.

Once they have entered, they were enthusiastically greeted by the "host" of the party: Yugi. They were led into the house and were ushered to the living room. Mokuba had already started to chat with other people while Seto on the other hand was just scanning the room for a sight of his puppy. He spotted blond hair at the left side of the room. Jou was dancing there. Very well too. All the nervousness that he had been feeling at the very start came back to him full force. How would he give his gift to Jou? It was not as easy as just going straight to the blond to give the gift himself. They were not really close. So Seto just stood there, contemplating a possible move.

* * *

He had stayed there standing for nearly two hours and it was nearly 12:00. He still had no clue on how to give his gift. He was a genius, yes, but not on these kind of things. Giving a gift to Jou was harder than computing logarithms. Mokuba was too engrossed in interacting with other people that he was hardly near Seto's side. Not that Seto minded but he really wanted to ask Mokuba for some help. He was brought out of his stupor when Yugi's voice floated in the air.

"May I ask all of us to proceed to the dining room to start on the Christmas feast and for the gift giving ceremony?"

This was what Seto needed. He just smirked and followed his brother towards the dining room.

* * *

The table was full of food. It looked like a huge buffet was unsuccessfully stuffed unto it. All the people present were seated around the table and the scene gave Seto a weird sense of being at a Christmas dinner with the family. Not that he would say it out loud and he also doubted that he was even part of it, but somehow, he felt nice just to be there. The presence of his puppy was even a bonus.

As the others ate amiably, the young CEO was silently surveying Jou. Mai was seated beside him. He was really tempted to throw his mashed potatoes on Mai's hair because the blonde was seating TOO close to Jou. But he can't really blame them, if they were really together, then they had every right to be that close. But that didn't mean that Seto liked to accept it. Jou must have noticed him staring because he suddenly looked at Seto's direction. At first, Seto didn't know what to do but then he suddenly remembered something that his little brother told him before they went here. He had told Seto that if he caught Jou's eyes, he should smile. That would help a lot if he wanted to be noticed. Seeing that he didn't know what else he could do, he smiled.

* * *

It was now the gift giving part of the night. It was after midnight and they had all finished their meals. Some of the other people present said that they needed to go home while the others decided to party the night away. Everybody had then decided that they could exchange gifts right now so that the ones who were leaving would be able to give and get their gifts. It was actually quite a scene of chaos after that. People were buzzing around the room and were handing gifts of all sizes. Mokuba was already giving gifts to people. There was a tag on each gift and there was a "from M&S Kaiba" written on them. Not that Seto had anything to do with it. Mokuba had just insisted that he would include Seto's name so that he would also be giving gifts to Jou's friends. He had even said that it would change their view on him somewhat because of that.

Now his only problem was on how to hand Jou the gift. It also had a tag on it but it only read: "from S Kaiba". Seeing the advantage of the mini crowd, Seto stalked towards his puppy and tapped him on his shoulder.

Jou turned around and it seemed that he was quite shocked because of the look in his face. But his normal friendly face returned and gave Seto a big smile. Seeing the smile, Seto could not help but smile back. He remembered the gift that he was supposed to give. He lifted it up for Jou to see. The blond haired boy's eyes widened in surprise as he silently accepted the gift. Jou looked down at the package and Seto decided that that was his cue to leave.

* * *

Author's notes:

-- Explanations and Translations:

1. I can't remember the name of the cat…

2. Many people do this. I think that it's kind of a bad habit but hey, it's their life anyway.

3. There is a shop here with that name. and they sell some of the items that I have mentioned.

4. I saw this toy once. It looked really cute but enough about that…

-- I'm really sorry for the very long update. I was kind of busy in school with all of the memorizing that we had to do. Why should we memorize all the names of the muscles anyway? It's not as if we would remember them all later…

-- I decided to make this a longer chapter to make up for the lateness…

-- Oh and for my other fics, I'm currently having a problem on continuing them. 1st is because I don't really know how to continue Ankh. It's still a WIP (work in progress), while Lost still needs a new summary. I'm not so sure but I might even add another chapter to end it and just make a sequel as a continuation.

-- What do you think? Should I continue, or not? Thanx for the review btw. I really appreciate them.

-- Please tell me what you think.

-- If you have any corrections, please feel free to tell me.


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